I LOVE using PanPastels for my journal backgrounds – sometimes it is great not to have to wait for paint to dry… I especially love the soft subtle blending that can be achieved, and the wonderful tactile feel of the pages. I have been using them in my gratitude journal, and thought I would share some pre-prepared background pages -

The page bottom left (above) was created by applying Phthalo Blue and Hansa Yellow Shade and blending them where they meet. The flowers were created by stamping with Versamark, and then dusting very lightly over the stamping with Chromium Oxide Green for the stems/leaves and Red Iron Oxide shade for the flowers.

The page top right was created by blending Yellow Ochre and Permanent Red and then erasing the swirls with a pencil eraser (Pan Pastels erase very easily). The page bottom right was created by laying down a base coat of Yellow Ochre, and then dusting Red Iron Oxide shade over a Tim Holtz mask.

For most pages, simply rubbing well with a paper towel after applying the Pastel is enough to ‘fix’ the pages, however when applying over a mask or through a stencil, it may be necessary to use a fixative spray, although I haven’t done that yet with this page and it is holding up pretty well.

I also find that PanPastel can be easily used on smooth paper – usually soft pastel requires a paper with some ‘tooth’, but it is easy to get smooth ‘washes’ of colour on very smooth paper with this product as it is so low in dust and has an almost creamy consistency.

Well, there are many well documented benefits to Journaling, but losing weight is a new one on me…  maybe I should try it   Sandy always produces stunning visual journal pages, click on the image to see more on her Flickr photostream.

From the journal of Sandy
(Click on the image to view original)
Image copyright of the artist

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For anyone who has not come across Roz Stendahl you have been missing a treat, she has been keeping sketchbook journals since she was a child and has been making her own hand-bound journals for over 25 years.  Her journals are a visual delight – a combination of her love for nature and the everyday.  Roz is very active in the Everyday Matters group and regularly dispenses useful information on sketching, journaling and materials.  On her blog Roz Wound Up, she has recently published an informative series on page layout (see links at the bottom of this post), culminating in this video – a brief glimpse through one of her journals.

This video shows lots of good ideas of how to incorporate sketches and other items you want to insert in your journal without putting undue pressure on the spine and binding of your book.  As a prolific journaler, Roz regularly fills 14 books a year, she has developed an indexing system (which you can see on the last page of her journal in the video) – read about her system here.

Informative posts by Roz you may like to check out (all links open in a new window)  -

… and a Little Bit about Page Layout
Looking More at Page Make Up—Part II: Evolution of a Page Spread
Looking More at Page Make Up—Part III: Evolution of Another Page Spread
Looking More at Page Make Up—Part IV: Playing with Photocopies
Looking More at Page Make Up—Part V: More Fun with Photocopies
Comfort Zones, Habits, and Page Layout

I will leave you with some wise words from Roz from her recent post Why Journal?

“…. You might have just created 30 pages of the ugliest sketches and paintings and idiotic writing on the planet—it still doesn’t make your internal critic right. It’s a step, one that you took, despite the chattering of that internal critic. Future steps will be easier because you took one. (And this will continue to be true every day you take such a step.)

You hold in your hands a document which says “I allowed myself to create; I allowed myself to take risks.” I think creative risks are like loose rocks on a hillside. We scramble over them, slipping at times, at other times finding sure footing, so that we can get to the top of the hill and have a better view.

I think having a better view (of ourselves, our creative process, our place in the world, the larger world, the people in our world) is what regular journaling is all about.

Why do you journal? What goals does it meet? What benefits do you derive from it? It’s good to ask these questions. The answers will be unique to you and tell you something about yourself.

Remember: just because it has great benefits doesn’t mean it can’t also be fun!”

I love Elaine’s daily journal pages – always with a little weather report.  This is a page she produced at the end of 2008, looking forward to the year ahead.  A very simple way to record those resolutions

From the journal of Elaine Magliacane
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Do you treasure the Christmas decorations your children have made at school, but wonder how long they will stand the test of time?  Why not document them in your visual journal and make sure the memory stays with you for ever.

This was drawn with a black Pitt Artist pen and coloured with watercolour pencils in a large Moleskine Sketchbook.  The page border was coloured with PanPastel in Yellow Ochre

From the visual journal of Gill McCowen (click here to view Gill’s blog)
Image copyright of the artist.

What inspires your journaling?

From the journal of Jeanette Yee Sclar (Click on the image to view original)
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As many of you know, Danny Gregory was one of the people who started me on my journaling journey.  His book ‘Everyday Matters’ inspired me to start drawing again.   So it is wonderful to see inside some of his original sketchbooks.  Danny made a habit to draw something everyday – here you will see what inspired him – his local neighborhood, the conents of his kitchen cupboard, or drawings from newspapers and magazines…

Sketchbook #3 from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

If you enjoyed his sketchbook, checkout the interview with Danny here

Take inspiration from what you find lying around, clippings, photos, magazines, and turn it into a wonderful journal page.

From the journal of Betsy Cañas Garmon
(Click on the image to view original)
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Use your journal to experiment with media you are not familiar with -

From the journal of  Barb Smith
(Click on the image to view original) or here to visit Barbs blog
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Julie Pritchard has just announced two exciting new online workshops.  If you have ever wanted to make your own art journals then Art Journaling Supa Nova part one is for you.  Part two will cover lots of journaling techniques.  Workshops can be taken individually or booked together for a discount.

Read more here